A Season Finale To Build On
Concordia closed out the season by narrowly losing to regionally-ranked Carleton and proved that the future is bright.
FARGO, N.D. (4/19/15)—It was a fitting ending to the 2015 season for Concordia as they came so close to upsetting regionally-ranked Carleton. The Cobbers won two doubles matches and got singles wins from Isaac Toivonen and Jesse Schneeberger but were edged in the end 5-4.
Concordia wasn't able to win a match in 2015 but posted close results throughout the entire season. The loss to the Knights showed exactly how far the team has come. The Cobbers took Carleton, who was ranked 12th in the latest ITA Central Region rankings, all the way to the final singles match. The Knights are now 21-1 on the season which is a program record. Carleton is also unbeaten in conference play.
The future is bright for Concordia as they do not have a senior on the roster.
The Cobbers set the tone for the match in doubles play when the No.1 doubles tandem of Toivonen and David Schneck came away with an 8-4 win. The No.3 doubles crew of Austin Storm and Zach Biggar followed suit to give CC a 2-1 lead heading to singles play. Storm and Biggar won 9-7 to pick up their first doubles win of the year.
The singles matches reflected the season theme as well as the team's two top singles winners recorded wins. Toivonen, playing at No.1 singles the entire season, posted a super-set tie-breaker win. He dropped the first set in the tie-breaker, rallied to win the second set and then outlasted his opponent 10-8 in the super-set tie-breaker. Toivonen's opponent was 14-3 on the season.
It was Toivonen's second super-set tie-breaker win in the past three matches.
Toivonen finishes his freshman season by winning three of the final four matches and four of the final six. He ends the year with a 6-7 overall record which is the tops on the team. Toivonen went 6-4 in MIAC matches which is tied for the fifth most among No.1 singles players in the conference.
Schneeberger found his stride towards the end of the season. He lost his first eight matches of the year but then rallied to win four of his final five matches.
Schneeberger also won his match on Sunday in the super-set tie-breaker. Like his overall season, he stumbled in the early going but then picked himself up and closed out the final two sets for the win. After losing the first set 6-1, Schneeberger won 7-5 in the second set and then finished off the match with a 10-7 win.
Schneeberger ends his sophomore season with a 4-9 record. His four wins double the win total from last year.
Carleton College 5, Concordia-Moorhead 4
Apr 19, 2015 at Fargo, N.D. (Courts Plus)
Singles competition
1. Isaac Toivonen (CC) def. Kevin Mei (CAR) 6-7 (1-7), 6-2, 10-8
2. Erik Johnson (CAR) def. Zach Zitur (CC) 6-4, 7-5
3. Patton McClelland (CAR) def. David Schneck (CC) 6-3, 6-1
4. Jesse Schneeberger (CC) def. Kevin Hurley (CAR) 1-6, 7-5, 10-7
5. Mark Conrad (CAR) def. Austin Storm (CC) 6-0, 6-1
6. Chrstian Purnell (CAR) def. Zach Biggar (CC) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Isaac Toivonen/David Schneck (CC) def. Kevin Mei/Erik Johnson (CAR) 8-4
2. Kevin Hurley/Chrstian Purnell (CAR) def. Zach Zitur/Jesse Schneeberger (CC) 8-4
3. Austin Storm/Zach Biggar (CC) def. Patton McClelland/Mark Conrad (CAR) 9-7